Comment 31 for bug 577114

First I'd like to thank Michael for his workaround. Works perfect every time though a real pain to have to go through to get wireless working.

So I've got the same issue but a slightly different experience. In my case, the issue didn't appear until I disabled wireless using the switch on the side of the laptop. I had been running 10.04 (first install was beta) on the netbook since taking delivery in March without issue. A few weeks ago I used the unit at work and disabled wireless via the switch to avoid setting off our IDS. Later that evening I sat down in my living room to do some reading and found myself in the same situation as everyone who's contributed to this thread. After some degree of searching I came across this thread and voila, problem solved.. though not to the level of service I had previously known of the S10-3.

Today I had some time and revisited the issue. My findings agree with the theory posed by Chase. This does appear to be a bios bug triggered by activation (or deactivation as it would have it) of the wireless switch on the side of the case. Appears there is a persistent setting that gets flagged in the bios when the switch is moved to off that doesn't get cleared when moved back to on. With a little bit of work and a small Phillips and a small flat screwdriver this issue can be solved.

****************************WARNING******************************
By following these instructions you assume any risk of damage you may incur. Read the instructions fully before beginning. If you are not mechanically inclined or feel in any way hesitant about performing the following actions, STOP now. I only post this as a guide of the actions I took to resolve this issue and in NO WAY, SHAPE or FORM am I responsible for your actions.
****************************WARNING******************************

The instructions below involve removing the battery backup power for your BIOS to allow a complete reset to factory settings. When complete you will need to reset any customized settings you may have made to the BIOS.

Move wireless switch into ON position

1. Turn the laptop over (bottom up) and remove the battery
2. Remove the 6 black screws around the outer edge of the case
3. Remove the 3 silver screws under the battery
4. Turn the unit back over (top up) open the screen
5. Using the small flat screwdriver, wedge it between the top edge of the function keys and the case. With the 3 silver screws removed, there are small plastic tabs in the top corners of the keyboard that snap in place. Gently pry the keyboard up along the top edge. You will hear an audible pop as the tabs disengage.
6. Gently tilt the top edge of the keyboard toward you. There are small tabs on the bottom edge of the keyboard which insert into the case to hold it in place.
7. The keyboard is attached to the motherboard via ribbon cable. There is enough cable that you can flip the keyboard over and still get to the connector.
8. Using your fingernail, you can pry up the lock on the connector which holds the ribbon cable in place.
9. Remove the keyboard
10. Remove the 3 screws found under the keyboard
11. On the front of the laptop, gently insert the tip of the screwdriver into the seam between the top and bottom halves of the case.
12. Gently pry the halves apart. You will need to work the screwdriver along the seam until the top half and bottom half of the unit separate. The seam has a plastic interlocking mechanism.
13. With the top half loose, using your fingernail again, pry up the black retainer for the ribbon cable which attaches the touchpad to the motherboard.
14. The upper half of the case should now be able to be removed revealing the top of the motherboard.
15. At this point you should be able to see the bios battery. In my unit it looks like a small blue coin with a red and black lead coming out of it. Using the small screwdriver or needle-nose pliers, work the male end of battery connector back and forth until it slides out of the socket.
16. Let the unit sit for a couple of minutes.
17. Reconnect the battery to the motherboard
18. Reconnect the touchpad ribbon cable to the motherboard
19. Snap the case back together
20. Install the 3 screws under the keyboard
21. Flip the keyboard over and reconnect the keyboard ribbon cable to the motherboard. Make sure to snap the connector closed.
22. Slide the 3 keyboard tabs into the slots in the bottom edge of the keyboard pan and tilt down. You will need to press the upper corners into place. An audible snap should be heard when they are seated.
23. Close the screen, turn the unit over and replace the 6 black case screws and the 3 silver keyboard screws.
24. Reinstall the battery
25. Power the unit on
26. Reset whatever BIOS settings you had in place prior to starting this procedure.
27. Boot the laptop and log in.
28. Once logged in, you will need to right-click on the wireless indicator and "Enable Networking"
29. Your laptop should run through the normal procedure of registering with your WAP
30. You should now be able to reboot the laptop and connect to wireless without issue.

IF you use the case switch to disable wireless again, there is 99.999% likelihood that the issue will reappear.

Given Lenovo's sole support for Windows and the bios utility's dependence on products from Redmond, I think we're all a far cry from ever seeing this issue fixed at the hands of the manufacturer. In my case, I don't need to have the ability to power off the wireless and have thus super-glued the switch in the on position to prevent this issue from ever recurring.

It's a little involved I know but I'm back to being able to use wireless without having to employ Michael's workaround to do so.